It is better to give…

If your family is like mine, you have more stuff than you know what to do with.

Still, we feel the pressure to heap on more things during this season, as evidence of our love.

More and more, though, I sense many of us are trying to break that pattern, and use this season to truly give, to give to those who really need.

Isn’t that what the original “gift” of Christmas was meant to be?

So, if you’re in that kind of Christmas-giving spirit, check these out:

BooksForAfrica.org lets you send two books to an African classroom that usually has 20 kids sharing one text. Your cost? $1. Yes, you can donate online.

Wonder if your $5 can make a difference in a life? At Homes For Our Troops,  building specially adapted homes for our most grievously wounded veterans, you’ll find a great way to honor their service.

Feed an abandoned dog or cat being cared for by ASPCA.org — a week’s food is only $7. Better yet, go adopt and save a life.

When we’re thirsty, we just turn on the faucet and fill a glass. Imagine not having clean drinking water. Imagine not having any water at all within miles of your home. Millions don’t have to imagine and your $10 gift to Water.org will change their lives.

$15 buys a backpack and school supplies for one homeless child in your city at CradlesToCrayons.org

Partners in Health provides free medical care in the most desperate locations on our earth. Isn’t that worth the cost of a couple of Starbucks coffees?

Or perhaps you know of a family, neighbors, people you see at church, friends who live in another state, who’ve lost jobs, maybe even their homes. Some have begun to lose hope.

It’s often more difficult to give to those we know, precisely because we don’t want to hurt their pride, but they need help this year.

How about Giving Anonymously, a web site that lets you make anonymous donations to individuals.

Maybe this Christmas you can be the angel in their lives.

Merry Christmas!